Lisandro Martinez said what every Man Utd fan was thinking – but cowardly, Cristiano Ronaldo-esque outburst can’t go unpunished
It all felt very premeditated, too. Martinez was clearly itching to vent before the microphone was put to his mouth, and he essentially just repeated the frustrated thoughts of supporters that have been splashed all over social media after every United game this term.
There’s no questioning their validity; United spent only £155 million ($206m) in the summer market, significantly less than all of their main rivals, and all of it went on strengthening the midfield. Youri Tielemans was a bargain buy at £35m ($46m), but it could easily be argued that the 29-year-old is past his peak, while buying Chelsea reject Andrey Santos for £50m ($66m) made no sense at all. Carlos Baleba is the only new arrival who looks primed to be a real long-term asset, though United overpaid with a £70m ($93m) outlay on a player who had a dismal 2025-26 season at Brighton.
None of them bring the goal threat and aerial prowess in both boxes that Casemiro had, so it was, at best, a mediocre overhaul of the engine room. Meanwhile, even more pressing areas of the pitch were neglected, namely central striker and left-back. Benjamin Sesko is not physically or technically up to the task of leading the line yet, and Luke Shaw’s body can’t hold up to playing three games a week.
Bringing in another experienced centre-back would have been shrewd, too, because of Matthijs de Ligt’s chronic back injury, Harry Maguire’s growing lack of mobility and Martinez’s unreliability. But even when you factor all of that in, it doesn’t excuse United’s run of results since August.
This is still largely the same squad that Carrick had at his disposal in May. They had statistically the easiest opening Premier League fixtures, too, including back-to-back meetings with newly-promoted Hull City and Ipswich, and away games against Everton and Fulham. Yes, Wilcox let Carrick down, just as he did Amorim, for failing in his role as the manager’s first line of support, and almost every decision made by INEOS chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has set the club back further, but the players can’t hide behind that – least of all Martinez.
